Kentuckians will elect a new treasurer during this year’s General Election. The office acts as the state’s chief financial officer, ensuring tax dollars are spent legally.
Mark Metcalf, a longtime Republican county official, and Michael Bowman, a Democratic banker from Louisville are vying for the post.
Metcalf has been the Republican county attorney of Garrard County for 22 years.
He says he’s running as a traditional small government conservative.
“We borrow too much, we spend too much and we save too little,” Metcalf said.
He previously worked as a federal prosecutor and as a special counsel for election reform during George W. Bush’s administration.
He says that range of experience — from local to federal government – has prepared him for the statewide post.
“My purpose in running is to impose fiscal restraint where it is needed so that we protect Kentucky's taxpayers from runaway state budgets,” Metcalf said.
Michael Bowman most recently worked in Lieutenant Governor Jacqueline Coleman’s office and has experience as a branch manager for U.S. Bank. He also worked as a legislative assistant for the Louisville Metro Council.
He says he would be the first treasurer in nearly 40 years to have a formal education in finance.
“That alone tells you that, while we may have had some treasurers in the past that have done some good work, they weren't the ones that have the intimate knowledge that is required for managing money at a scale like this,” Bowman said.
In the past, some candidates for treasurer and lawmakers have advocated for completely eliminating the office.
But this year’s contenders say the office plays an important oversight role.
Bowman says the treasurer can be an independent watchdog.
“The treasurer is independently elected for a reason,” Bowman said. “And that is to prevent the bureaucracy of dealing with tax dollars from being wrapped up in either a governor or in a legislature and allows it to be directly held accountable to the people.”
Metcalf says the office is a valuable backstop for government spending - though he also says he would accept the legislature’s decision to move the treasurer’s responsibilities elsewhere if that choice were ever made.
“The way I see the office right now is, if you're going to replace the treasurer's office, what are you going to put in place, that’s better than what we have now?” Metcalf said.
One of his first initiatives would be to take stock of how government programs are performing, and recommend adding money to the state’s Rainy Day Fund.
“To save money, what we need to be doing is seeing what's working,” Metcalf said.
“Making sure we don't have duplication in other areas of state governments.”
Bowman says he would improve accountability and transparency when it comes to what investments are being made with Kentuckians’ tax dollars.
“I see opportunity for improvements where we can get that information out to people on a wide scale, get local and county governments involved in disseminating that information to the people in their communities,” Bowman said.
He wants to work closely with the governor’s office and be an active partner in what the state invests in.
“I think, for the treasurer, (it’s important) to establish the partnerships that we need to really drive our economy, take advantage of what we've seen with the nearly $30 billion of investment that we've seen over the last three years,” Bowman said.
The winner of the race will replace outgoing Republican Treasurer Alison Ball, who is term-limited and running for state auditor.
This year’s general election is on November 7th.
